Page 28 of Forever my Love

ChapterNine

Hailey grew more comfortable each day that she stayed at Reece’s place. Not only was he easy to get along with, but he was fun to be around.

He pushed her limits physically when they practiced self-defense together. He taught her how to box and showed her all of the techniques he used against his opponents.

They watched a few videos of his past fights. She thought she’d be nervous watching them, afraid of seeing him get injured.

Instead, she lost herself in the sport of it all. She even recognized a few of the moves he’d shown her and called them out each time.

A few days after Nick had filled them in on Fred’s history, Harper showed up at Baked carrying a huge hot pink Classy and Sassy Bag in her arms. Her sister was practically glowing.

“What’s up?” she asked, hugging her after she mentioned to Corey that she was taking her break.

“Just bought a dress,” Harper said cheerfully.

“A…” Hailey had to do a double take. Without waiting for Harper to respond, she grabbed the bag and looked inside. Sure enough, there was a pretty soft pink dress-and-sweater combo inside, along with a stylish pair of tan boots. Her sister had never worn a dress. Never. She hadn’t even owned a dress until now. “Nice. What’s the occasion?”

“Valentine’s Day,” Harper answered with a shrug. Her sister’s eyes narrowed. “What’s up between you and Reece?”

“I’m not sure.” She frowned into her iced tea. “I mean, he’s very protective. Almost brotherly,” Hailey answered.

“He… he hasn’t kissed you yet?” Harper asked.

Hailey shrugged, not wanting to talk about this, here, now, with her sister. It was all so… embarrassing.

Harper leaned closer and whispered, “What have you told him about… things.” She glanced around.

“A lot. Not everything, but a lot.”

Harper took her hand. “I hope that one day you’ll feel comfortable talking with someone like I am now.”

“So, Nick knows everything?” Hailey asked, her eyes searching Harper’s.

“Yes,” Harper answered softly.

“And… you’re not in trouble?” Hailey whispered.

Harper shook her head. “No. Even after I told him everything, he didn’t even look at me differently. Besides, he’s the one who found out that Heidi was already dead when I…” She dropped off. Harper had filled her in on how their mother’s autopsy report showed that she had died long before Harper had poisoned her drugs with rat poison. “He’s gone out of his way to make me feel… different.” She leaned back in the chair. “I think I’m in love.”

Hailey was quiet for a moment. Her heart ached for some odd reason. Was love between a man and woman really possible? Sure, she loved Harper. That wasn’t up for question. But she’d never loved anyone else. Ever.

“I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to trust like that,” Hailey admitted, looking down as she swirled her straw in her tea. “To tell someone my biggest secret. My biggest shame.” She felt her eyes sting as she remembered that night so long ago. The pain. The hurt. The shame of it all. Sure, she’d blurted out to Reece that Fred had raped both her and Harper, but the details were still hidden deep inside her. She didn’t think she would ever be able to share them with anyone.

Harper reached across the table and gripped Hailey’s hand so tight that Hailey looked up at her.

“Nothing you did was shameful,” she asserted. “You did nothing wrong. Neither of us did.”

Hailey’s eyes started to tear up, but she nodded slightly.

“Are you okay staying at Reece’s place? We could go home?” Harper asked.

Swallowing the emotions, she lifted her shoulders. She knew without a doubt that Harper was better off staying with Nick. She didn’t want to jeopardize that. Besides, she’d just admitted that she loved the man. Hailey was not going to get in the way of her sister’s happiness. Even if she couldn’t have any herself.

“I know you want to be with Nick, and I also know that you wouldn’t let me stay home by myself. I’m okay where I’m at for now,” she said quickly.

“Why don’t you come over tonight for dinner? Nick is a wonderful cook. You can see Lucy and Blue.”

Sadness overtook her at the thought of losing her sister to Nick. Would they still be close even if they didn’t live together again? Would her sister still love her as much or had Nick taken her place?